Independence
by Uchiha B
Summary: She had always been an Uchiha, so why was she insisting she wasn't? Well, her 'brother' might just have something to do with it... One-shot?


Disclaimer: I own nothing

Pairing: One-sided Kagome/Itachi

A/N: One-shot?

* * *

Now, it had always been rather obvious that Mikoto had always wanted a girl within the Uchiha clan, but the odds had been stacked up against her. A female-born Uchiha had always been a rare thing to begin with, as Mikoto herself had been the last girl actually born into the clan (and that was a few decades ago).

So, when the opportunity presented itself, Mikoto took it without any kind of hesitation, despite the disapproval from Fugaku and the rest of the clan.

A baby girl – an orphan, most likely – had been found on the borders of Konoha, and it was a slightly confusing case because no one could discover what exact clan the girl had come from. In fact, no one even knew what village the girl had been born in. And when Mikoto had gone to a shift as a medic-nin to the hospital (it was sheer coincidence, as Mikoto didn't actually work at the hospital, they only had a shortage that evening and she had been called in) and saw the child as the nurses cooed over her.

Mikoto fell in love at first sight, even more excited because the girl could so easily resemble any kind of Uchiha with her pale skin and dark hair (though, those absolutely beautiful blue-grey eyes did sort of ruin the Uchiha effect), and as such, Mikoto just _had _to have her.

And whatever Uchiha Mikoto wanted, Uchiha Mikoto got.

Even if Uchiha Fugaku protested – though, that didn't seem to last very long when the knowledge that the girl was revealed to be a _miko _(through pure accident).

Mikoto named the girl Kagome.

* * *

"That dream about that white dog and the red fox _again_," Kagome muttered, sitting up in her bed as she slowly woke up from her highly-drowsy state. She sighed, stretching as she prepared for the day, ready to go to the academy, "And a perverted monk and a violent demon slayer with that cute cat." She laughed lightly, remembering when she had told her dream to her 'parents', and how Mikoto had said that she 'had such an imagination'.

Her light smile quickly disappeared at the thought of her 'parents', and she didn't like it because they _weren't _her parents – despite them acting like it (though, Fugaku had always been rather distant; Kagome chalked it up to the fact that she wasn't actually of Uchiha blood).

_'I can't do this anymore,' _Kagome pondered as she threw on some clothes, slowly making her way to the breakfast room and stiffening at the sight, _'I can't keep leading everyone on because....'_

Her 'brothers' were both sitting at the low table, eating as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Of course, nothing would be strange for them, it had been the same for them since Itachi had been six and Sasuke an infant. But, it simply wasn't normal for Kagome because she didn't consider either of them her 'brothers', but since she had been raised to say as such...

"Nii-chan, Aniki..." Kagome greeted with a small strained smile, sitting down as far away as she could and making extra sure that she did not even glance in Itachi's direction. She heard their usual greeting of 'Hn' and stayed silent from there on out. Just calling them 'Nii-chan' and 'Aniki' caused her a discomfort that she could not subdue.

Sasuke raised a brow in response to his sister's behaviour, but shrugged it off as a female thing and went back to his meal, though Itachi narrowed his obsidian eyes and kept his gaze on the small girl as she seemed to shudder under his attention, "Kagome, is there something wrong?" He asked in his emotionless tone, causing Sasuke to glance up again and look towards the girl.

"W-what? N-no, of course not!" Kagome quickly stammered, completely surprised by the question, though she really shouldn't be. Itachi was just far too observant and she could feel her heart rate quicken considerably, "W-why would you think there is something wrong, Aniki?" She forced herself to say the word, trying to meet Itachi's gaze, but failing miserably.

Itachi stayed silent, though his gaze sharpened and Mikoto entered the room with her usual bright smile and Kagome stiffened even more, "Good morning, my children!" Mikoto cooed sweetly, "Sasuke, Kagome – isn't just so exciting? You will both be graduating the academy today!"

Sasuke 'Hn'ed' again and Kagome nodded, biting her lip and wondered if she should get up and say it – the thing that had been on her mind since she had been small. This wasn't right and she wasn't sure how much longer she could stand it. Itachi had never once taken his obsidian stare from Kagome, sensing that there was something very wrong with the girl, though it had to more psychological because she had no physical injuries.

"Kagome," Itachi's stern tone surprised everyone in the room with the abruptness of it, "What is wrong?" He asked again in that emotionless tone and Sasuke and Mikoto glanced at the girl, waiting for her answer because if Itachi could sense something was wrong, then there was something definitely wrong.

Kagome shook and clenched her hand, biting her lip to try and stop herself from just spilling everything out, but it didn't help. Years of keeping silent had taken its toll and Kagome found herself speaking her worst nightmare.

"I-I don't want this anymore, none of this! I'm not an Uchiha – I never was to begin with!" Kagome looked at a surprised Mikoto with her large blue eyes, "I'm not a child anymore, I don't need you to baby me anymore!" Her accusing stare turned over to Itachi and Sasuke, "Nor am I your little sister! This clan – i-it's not my family, it never was!" She backed up, unable to look at Mikoto's heartbroken look, Sasuke's widened eyes, or Itachi's narrowed gaze.

"I-I'm leaving, I can't be an Uchiha anymore!" Kagome panted, "My name is.... is _Higurashi_!" She blurted out, pulling the name from nowhere, but it seemed to fit. Silence deafened the room and Kagome avoided everyone's, but especially Itachi's, gaze.

It was hard, but Kagome finally managed to accept it. Of course, developing affections for your 'brother' that went beyond that sibling bond was a pretty hard thing to realize and accept, but she did. She realized that Itachi simply would never see her as any sort of potential love interest if she kept on being the little sister figure she had been forced into.

And Kagome was determined to make Itachi see her as an equal, even if it took years to achieve that.

Even if it meant breaking away from him and the Uchiha clan, the only family she really even known....

She supposed that her breaking soul would be the price of Itachi's affections.

* * *

Well, just a one-shot that may or may not be continued....


End file.
